J-Speaks: Nets Championship Journey Ends In Epic Game 7 of East Semis

 

Sometimes in the NBA Playoffs it comes down to who is available and who is not if you want to advance. It comes down to making plays at key moments of a game or a series. It comes down that team’s headline player bringing their A+ game when the stakes call upon it. We saw all of that in Game  7 in the Eastern Conference Finals between two teams that had serious championship aspirations and one team saw those championship dreams collapse right in front of them on Saturday night.

The No. 2 Seeded Brooklyn Nets gave a valiant effort against the No. 3 Seeded Milwaukee Bucks, but they just did not have enough as they fell 115-111 in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series.

Two-time Finals MVP and perennial All-Star Kevin Durant was sensational with a Game 7 with 48 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 17 for 36 from the field and 10 for 11 from the foul line playing all 53 minutes.

To put into context how great Durant, who helped the Golden State Warriors win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 was in Game 7 versus the Bucks, his 48 points set a new Game 7 record. He scored or assisted on 27 of the Nets 53 first half points, he went stride for stride with two Kia MVP of the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the Game 7 clincher on 15 for 24 from the field and 8 for 14 at the foul line, which included him connecting on 7 of his last 8 at the charity stripe.

Durant’s jumper tough turnaround jumper at the three-point line with the Bucks P.J. Tucker all over him defensively, tied the score with 01.0 seconds left in regulation that was called a two-point make because his left foot was on the line.

“My big ass foot was a step on the line. I just seen a little screen shot of how close I was to ending their season,” Durant said of what was called a two-pointer in the final seconds of regulation in his postgame Zoom presser.

The Nets got the jump start in the overtime when a follow up layup off a Joe Harris missed three-pointer was scored by Bruce Brown that put the Nets up 111-109.

It would be their only field goal of the extra five minutes as they went just 1 for 12 in overtime and were outscored 6-2, with the Bucks’ Khris Middleton hitting a turnaround jumper in the lane that put his team ahead 111-109 with 40.1 seconds left in overtime.

The Nets had their chances but Harris missed a couple of wide open three-pointers. Former Net Brook Lopez blocked Durant’s driving left-handed layup with about one minute left in overtime.

With a chance to possibly win the game in overtime, Durant’s air-balled a jumper from close to the top of the key with 01.0 seconds left in overtime.

Along with their season ending, the Nets also saw their six-game playoff home winning streak conclude.

“We got good looks there in overtime. We just didn’t knock them down,” Durant said of the Nets struggles in the extra five minutes. “But respect to the Milwaukee Bucks and how they prepare, how they challenged us all series and made adjustments all series. We’ve got nothing but respect for this ball club.”

“You’ve got to give credit to the Milwaukee Bucks. They’re a great team who got a good chance of winning a championship. The story should be about them and how well they played this whole series. How well they played all year.”

Coming into this game with the other two members of the Nets dynamic trio in James Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists playing basically on one leg because of a right hamstring issue and Kyrie Irving was out because of right ankle sprain.

The Bucks trio of Antetokounmpo, and fellow All-Stars Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, and  have been in the lineup the entire series and were right at the forefront of this win Game 7 as Middleton who previously mentioned game-clinching jumper in the lane with 40.1 seconds capped his night of 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Holiday, who struggled much of the night going 5 for 23 shooting, including 2 for 9 from three-point range for 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. was the one guarding a tired Durant in the final seconds of overtime forcing him to airball his game-tying long jumper. Lopez who had 19 points, eight boards, and four block shots, including a big one on Durant’s left-handed layup with the game tied at 111-111 preserved the score. Tucker, who has guarded Durant for much of the majority of this series was a major contributor in Game 7 with 11 points, five boards, three steals and two blocks going 3 for 5 from three-point range.

“I can’t even speak about how much we miss Kyrie out on the floor, and how much we missed James to start the series,” Durant, who joined Hall of Famers Jerry West and Oscar Robertson to score 40-plus points and play every single minute of Game 7. “I can just go for 40 minutes on both of those two and how much they care about us and how much they put their bodies on the line to help us out as a team.”

Harden, who only played the first 43 seconds of this series before going down with the aforementioned right hamstring strain in the series opener before playing in Games 5, 6, and 7. He struggled in Game 5 scoring just five points on 1 for 10 shooting, including 0 for 8 from three-point range in the 114-108 come from behind win on Tuesday. Harden got back on track somewhat with 16 points, seven assists, five boards and four steals on 5 for 9 shooting, including 3 for 6 from three-point range in the 104-89 loss at the Bucks in Game 6 on Thursday night that tied the series 3-3.

Unfortunately, Harden looked nothing like the dynamic scorer and playmaker he has been known for in his basketball career.

“We did everything we could,” Harden, who shot 5 for 17, including 2 for 12 from three-point range and 10 for 10 at the foul line said after the Game 6 defeat postgame. “Just frustrated but give the Bucks credit. They fought until the end. Had a hell of a series. We just came up short.”  

Harden added, “I mean if were not injured. Me and Kai are on the floor, it’s a totally different conversation. But we can’t talk about that because that wasn’t the case.”

"It's frustrating for myself just being durable and being myself for the last, so many postseasons and dealing with this particular hamstring. It's just frustrating." 

Blake Griffin chipped in with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Bruce Brown had 14 points and six boards and Joe Harris had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Outside of the starters, reserves Landry Shamet, Jeff Green, and Nicolas Claxton combined for 0 for 0 from the field, 0/0 from three-point range, and 0 for 0 from the free throw line, two rebounds and one assists.

In fact, the only reserve for both teams to score was the Bucks Pat Connaughton, who had nine points and four rebounds on 3 for 5 from three-point range.

The inability for the Nets to remain healthy this season really came to pass in Game 7 versus the Bucks with Irving out and Harden limited by the hamstring issue.

Counting the regular season and playoffs, Durant, Irving, and Harden played only eight games together after Harden was acquired from the Houston Rockets on Jan. 14, going 6-2 in their eight games played together in the regular season.

While they went 48-24 during the regular season using 34 different starting lineups, that inability to create any kind of consistent chemistry eventually hindered the Nets and wore down Durant in the late stages of Game 7 for the Nets, who dropped to 1-3 all-time in Game 7, which now includes an 0-2 mark at home.

“Just an unbelievable effort. Gave us everything they had. So much adversity this year. First year together. So many changes to the roster and so many injuries. COVID protocols.  The couldn’t have given us anything more,” a dejected first-year head coach Steve Nash, whose team suffered their only home playoff loss in Game 7 versus the Bucks on Saturday night said in his postgame Zoom presser. “To take that team without Kai [Irving] and James on one leg out there. Doing anything to help his teammates, and you go down the line. What B.G. gave us this. Kevin just, I don’t know what more Kevin could do. It’s just out of this world, and you can say that for all our guys at a different part of the season gave us something. Just really proud of the group and I hurt for them more than anything.”

With the focus on next season, the question for the Nets is can they get back to this point and cash in on winning a title. The star trio of Durant, Irving, and Harden is under contract for next season with them respectably making $44 million for Harden, $42 million for Durant, and $35 million for Irving. After the 2021-22 NBA campaign all three players have a player option in their deals for the 2022-23 season.

The $121 million combined that Durant, Irving, and Harden are making next season has the Nets $9 million over their projected salary cap of $112 million.

Nets General Manager Sean Marks said after acquiring Harden as mentioned in the middle of last January that he hoped to keep Durant, Irving, and Harden together for a lot longer than a year-and-a-half.

The Nets like the rest of the National Basketball Association (NBA) had to deal with injuries, COVID-19 protocols, different lineups, and many other things in between.

To be a serious title contender, you need your headline player(s) to come to the forefront in a high stakes game like Game 7. You also need ancillary players who can perform alongside a team’s headline player(s). The Nets got the big-time performance from their headline player in Kevin Durant but they did not a get it from James Harden, at the level we have seen who was playing injured. Blake Griffin, Joe Harris, and Bruce Brown contributed, but to get no scoring from anyone else is hard to fathom.

The hope is now that the Brooklyn Nets can use this disappointment as fuel to get themselves healthy and whole, and hopefully reach this point again next season, and win a title because there is no guarantee that they have the chance to win a title with the same group again as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden’s future is not in control of the Nets after next season. In the offseason of 2022, Durant, Irving, and Harden have player options in the final year of their respective contracts. Also going into next season, all three combined next season have salaries of $44 million for Harden, $42 million for Durant, and $35 million for Irving, coming to a total of $121 million for the Nets Big Three, putting them over the team's projected $112 million in salary cap space. So, their best chance to seriously win a title is next year with the future after that up in the air. 

“We want to win. We want to win every game we play. We want to win a championship every just like every team," Durant said after the Game 7 loss. "But the beauty of our profession is we ket up and keep going. 

"Everybody on this team works extremely hard. They care about the game. So, we get ready for next year."

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 6/19/2021 8:30 p.m. “Milwaukee Bucks versus Brooklyn Nets” Game 7 Eastern Conference Semifinals on TNT, presented by Fanduel Sportsbook with Marv Albert, Grant Hill, and Jared Greenberg; 6/19/2021 11 p.m. “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 6/20/2021 2:30 a.m. ESPN news crawl and “Sportscenter” from Los Angeles, CA with Stan Verrett and Linda Cohn; and https://www.nba.com/game/mil-vs-bkr-0042000217/box-score.